Vehicle Interior Air Quality Management (10 K€ in prizes)

Air pollution is one of the most frequent and well-known environmental problems. In fact, air quality in vehicle cabins is usually worse than at home or at work due to several factors. Can you help us to find systems to manage and ensure good vehicle interior air quality? Join the challenge (click on the button below), register, and download the complete description of this competition. 

The Challenge

Pollutants that reduce the quality of the air find their way into the vehicle cabin through the ventilation system, or HVAC, or through window openings, imperfect seals and other holes. Other mobility paradigms like car sharing are changing the traditional use of private automobiles, opening the door to a more intensive use and contributing to a lower quality air on board the vehicles. Pollutants could be present in the interior cabin by other means such as:

• The emission of interior parts or systems in ambient temperature (VOCs, O3…).
• The human breathing process combined with a lack of fresh airflow resulting in low O2 and high CO2 concentrations.
• The intensive use of the car in new shared mobility (microbes, allergens, smells…).
• The presence of humidity in the seats/floor/ HVAC (stimulating microbial growing)

What Grupo Antolin is looking for

As part of its Open Innovation program, Grupo Antolin is looking for a complete air quality management solution to be implemented in the interior of the car. It needs to assure the quality of the interior air regarding some of the following pollutants (in order of importance):

1. VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds): such as BTEX, Chlorinated compounds, Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons…
2. Chemical Pollutants: such as Carbon Mono/Dioxide, Nitrogen, and Sulphur Dioxide.
3. Particulate Contamination
4. Microbial Contamination: such as viruses and bacteria.
5. Allergens.
6. Smells such as cigarettes, food…

Evaluation criteria

Submissions will be assessed according to the following criteria:

• Technical solution considering the complete system: measured parameters, compliance with the requirements and adaptability to different car models, climate and environmental conditions.
• Ability to estimate air quality.
• Ability to reduce/eliminate as much as possible, as many pollutants as possible (in order of importance). Consider the different sources of pollutants and the different time/process for their development
• Lower estimated costs for producing the solution.
• Lower estimated energy consumption for running the solution.
• Lifecycle addressed solution.
• Originality

Timeline

This is a one-round challenge with the following deadlines:

• 6 weeks for submissions
• 3 weeks for evaluation

Prize

The winning solution will receive 8,000 EUR. The second and third best solutions will also receive 1,000 EUR each. Grupo Antolin may be interested in further collaborating with the participants in the development of the proposed solutions. Participate in the challenge